And The Flame Burns On
by WitchGirl
Summary: A killer is loose in the ER and wants revenge on the people who were responsible for something. JUST READ IT! And please review! Changed the rating because I realized it was G and it shouldn't be. Violence and lanquage.
1. Fire and Ice

Summary: A killer is loose in the ER and wants revenge on the people who were responsible for something. JUST READ IT!  
  
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the big guys behind ER. The rest is mine  
  
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And The Flame Burns On  
  
Chapter oen: Fire and Ice  
  
Fire and Ice  
Dark and Light  
Time to pay the price  
For the unknown plight  
  
The flame that burns inside of you  
Is one easily extinguished  
Like the ice inside of me  
It determines who you are  
Time to find her now  
Your breath is getting short  
Go see your precious lost one  
She lives inside of me.  
  
It was a cold, January evening. Normal. No one would expect her or see her coming. It was a dark street where anything could happen. It had been snowing earlier. She picked up the snow in her hands. This would be where she made her move. She took a knife out of her pocket. She laughed. How ironic that she was using the same tool that had brought about the downfall of the woman inside her, the woman she feared the most. Ironic, that it would now, bring about her reincarnation. A few minutes later, there was a loud scream.  
  
John Carter's shift had begun only a few minutes before. The night shift. It was seven and it was slow. The only traumas he had were done. Taken care of.  
"Hey Carter. You're stuck with me for the next few hours," Dave said, sitting next to him.  
"Yeah. You, me, Green, and Corday..." Carter sighed.  
"And Weaver, of course," Dave said, looking at the woman behind the admin desk.  
"Hey, don't forget me!"  
"Hey Abby," Carter and Dave said, tiredly.  
"You two sure are excited to see me," Abby said sarcastically.  
"Don't take it personally. It's just... it can be pretty boring here some-" but he was cut off by Mark Green, wheeling in another trauma patient, yelling the stats.  
"26-year-old female stab wounds in the abdomen!" he cried.  
"Maybe you should..." Abby started, but Carter was already up as was Dave. Abby followed.  
"John..." choked the girl, "John... Carter..." Carter looked at her. He knew he didn't know the girl. Green looked at Carter.  
"Never seen her before," said Carter.  
"I don't think you should take this one, Carter," Green said.  
"But-" but Abby held him back as Elizabeth Corday joined and Mark and Dave took the patient out of sight. Carter looked after them, disappointed. He couldn't believe it.  
"I think it was a good idea. Stab wounds, and all... I don't think you should be partial to them after... you know," Abby said, quietly, "And... She seemed to know you. Maybe-"  
"Abby, believe me, I've never seen her before in my life!"  
"Still..." she said. Carter looked at her, annoyed.  
"You all think that since what happened to Lucy I can't handle things like this!" Carter said, amazed.  
"It's not that..." but even as she said it, she knew it was. She knew that most of the doctors didn't trust him with stab wound patients anymore, herself included. She bit her lip.  
"Look... I'll tell you the truth, OK? I miss Lucy, and I always will, OK? And I admit I do get a bit nervous when stabbing victims come in, got it? But I take control of myself now. I can handle it... I think..." Abby smiled as she realized that another doctor that didn't trust Carter with stabbing victims was Carter himself.  
"Yeah, well, we should get back to work. They can handle that girl on their own," Abby said.  
"Hello," Peter Benton smiled at Carter and Abby.  
"Benton! What are you doing here? It's not your shift!"  
"I know, but I had nothing better to do so I thought I'd drop by."  
"Right." Carter said.  
"Hello, gentlemen... Ladies," Romano said to Carter and Benton and then to Abby.  
"Kerry told me to find you. Carter, we need you in exam room three. It's a young boy with leukemia. His parents like to-"  
"Keep him hospitalized and away from outside, I've been with him before. Ben, right?"  
"Yeah. Abby, you go see that girl with the stitches, see she's all right, in curtain five. Benton, since your here, would you mind-"  
"Sorry, Romano, not my shift, remember? And I have other things to do," Benton said.  
"Fine, I'll do it," Romano said, and left.  
"See you later," Carter said, to Abby and Benton.  
"Yeah. But now I have to find something to do!" Benton said, and they all laughed.   
  
"Hello, Ellen. How are you feeling?" Mark asked, a few hours later when the girl awoke.  
"Huh? Who are you?" she asked groggily, then moaned in pain as she became fully aware of the agony in her stomach.  
"Relax. My name is Dr. Green. You were found on a street corner, stabbed once in your stomach. Do you know who did this to you?" Ellen shook her head, full of long, black locks of hair which were wet, because of her sweat.  
"It... It was a woman. I was walking down the street and she stepped out of no where. That's all I know."  
"Well, either you were extremely lucky, or she had bad aim because it was not a fatal wound when we found you, had you been there any longer, it would have been."  
"Thank you doctor," Ellen smiled.  
"Um... When you came in here, you mentioned the name John Carter?"  
"I did? I don't know a man by that name..."  
"Yes, well, there is a doctor here that has that name."  
"Did he help me?"  
"For a minute-"  
"Then I must have read his name on something."  
"Yeah, that must be it," Mark mumbled under his breath. Since Ellen was stable, he decided it was a good idea to let her rest a little. And so he left.  
  
She watched him leave. He was part of it, she knew, but he wasn't her first priority. She needed to get that one doctor. The one that had let her die. Romano. Then the British one they call Corday. And Benton after her. She would slowly kill every doctor involved in what happened. Then, she would speak with the only survivor. She stood up and went to shut the power down, the first stage in her plan.  
  
Abby was alarmed when the lights went off. She dropped the papers she was carrying and bent down to pick them up.  
"Owe! Damn table!" she cursed as she tried to get up and hit her head on the table. Just as her eyes were adjusting to the dark, a bright light was shined in her eyes. She squinted and tried to block out the light.  
"Need a little help?" came a familiar voice.  
"Thanks, Carter," she said, taking his hand. He pulled her to her feet.  
"You looked like a dear, you know," said another person's voice.  
"Excuse me?" Abby asked.  
"A dear. Caught in the headlights. Frozen and dazed, and full of fear. You're all just dear in the headlights. And I'm about to run you all over..." Carter shined the flashlight around, but no one was there.  
"Let's get out of here, something's freaking me out," he said. Abby agreed.  



	2. The Never-ending Battle

chapter 2: The Never-Ending Battle  
  
Fire and Ice  
The never-ending battle  
Time to pay the price  
This is no foolish prattle  
  
Fight Fire with Fire  
They always say, but water's more effective  
Here will be your funeral pyre  
Go fly away to her  
She lives inside of me  
  
Romano was just shutting his locker when the lights went out. He felt his way to the door. It was locked and he didn't understand why.  
"Hello, Doctor," he heard a female voice say before he was stabbed in the back. He tried to scream.  
  
"Why do you think the lights went out?" Dave asked Coday.  
"Well, it's beginning to snow pretty hard. Maybe that's it."  
"I hope so..."  
"You sound so doubtful."  
"Nah. I've just seen one too many horror movies... Did you hear that?" he asked, looking at Corday who had just found a flashlight.  
"Yes," She said. It had been a scream.  
  
When they got to the locker room, where they heard the scream come from, everyone was already there. Carter, Abby, Benton, Green, Carol, Kerry, and Kovac were all there. No one said anything. Carter's flashlight was on the dead body of Dr. Robert Romano. Nothing could be done. He had been stabbed five times, two of those stabs were straight through the heart. A wave of cold fear settled over the assembled crowd. There hearts were cold with terror and every inch of them knew this was no random act. The power had been cut for a reason. Romano had been stabbed for a reason. They just didn't know why... Or who would be next.  
  
"OK, are all the patients stable?" Benton asked when they were all gathered in the lobby.  
"Yes," Kerry replied.  
"Good. Now, what we have to do is stay in pairs just in case anything happens. And have your cell phone and pager on at all times. Corday, you stay with me. Luka Kovac, you go with Mark Green. Kerry Weaver, stay with Carol Hathaway. John Carter and Abby Lockhart, stay together with Dave Malucci. You got it? No one leave their partner. Now we have to continue helping the patients and do not alarm them, but we will do it in these groups. Whoever did this might want to hurt the patients, but say nothing about it. Under no means, leave your partner alone. This is important. Kerry, call the police," Benton ordered. Kerry picked up the phone. The line was dead. She picked up her cell phone and dialed the number, but her battery died. And everyone else's battery was dead as well.  
"OK, don't panic, it will be OK as long as we stay in our groups," Mark Green said.  
"Maybe we should evacuate..."  
"We will go to the station and tell them what happened. Until then, stay here and don't go anywhere!" Peter said, interrupting Carter. Everyone tried to stay calm and parted; each group had at least one flash light. No one had ever seen it so dark in the hospital; even the emergency lights were out. Carter told Abby and Dave that he wanted to check on Ben, the young boy with leukemia. Abby and Dave agreed and followed Carter to Ben's room.  
  
"Ben, how you doing?" Carter asked, trying to sound happy.  
"Hey Carter! Why are the lights out?" Ben asked.  
"Oh, because there's a storm outside, so that must be it. These are my friends, Abby Lockhart and Dave Malucci," Carter said.  
"Do you know how much I miss snow?" Ben said, looking out the window.  
"Yeah. I'm sorry, Ben, but your parents want you indoors."  
"Wasn't I supposed to get some more radiation therapy today?" Ben asked.  
"Um, not today. Besides, you hate that stuff, right?" Carter asked.  
"Yeah..." Ben sighed.  
"What a sad kid," Dave whispered to Abby.  
"I know..."  
  
Benton and Corday buckled their seat belts in the car. Benton turned the key to start the engine. It wouldn't start.  
"Great, now the engine is frozen!" Benton said, slamming his hands on the wheel. He turned at Corday screamed! A figure, covered in shadows had just broken the window on the passenger's side. Corday moved closer to Benton to get as far away from the person in the shadows as possible. All they could tell was that she was female. She leaned over through the window and her long straight hair fell down. They could see her face now. Right before she stabbed them both.  



	3. Burn On

Disclaimer: Incase you didn't know, the characters do NOT belong to me... Too bad, though.  
  
A/N: OK, I know a lot of you are worried because I am killing off a lot of people here, but don't worry, it has a happy ending (grins mischieveiously) trust me, you'll like it. The next chapter's the last.  
  
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Chapter 3: Burn On  
  
Fire and Ice  
I will fight 'til the end  
Time to pay the price  
For a long lost friend  
  
The fire inside you is low  
But it still burns on  
No matter, it will soon be gone  
As quickly as a summer wind  
Weep not for your lost companion  
She lives inside of me  
  
She did nothing of the bodies that lay inside the car. They were cold and helpless. Lifeless and limp. She smiled at her prey.  
"Sweet revenge," whispered she, "soon it will be time, sister, soon you will have rebirth!" and she re-entered the hospital building, leaving the bleeding carcasses.  
  
"They should be back by now..." Carol whispered after an hour of waiting, "I hope they're OK..."  
"Carol, Peter is a resourceful man and Elizabeth is an intelligent woman. They will be fine as long as they stay together," Kerry tried to comfort her. Weaver and Carol entered a room to a patient.  
"Hello doctor. The lights are out. Is everything OK?" asked the man.  
"Everything is fine, Mr. Carson, how's your leg doing?" Kerry asked.  
"It hurts..."  
"It's broken, that's to be expected," Kerry replied and asked Carol to shine the flashlight at the clipboard she had so she could read something.  
"Doctor, something doesn't feel right..."  
"It's only a power outage, sir, nothing to worry about," Carol assured, even though she knew it was a lie. Why shouldn't she tell the patients? They had a right to know. They would panic, that's why. They had to keep calm until Benton and Corday returned. Carol wasn't sure she could.  
"I'm going to drive to the police station, too," she told Kerry without thinking.  
"What? I have to go with you then!" Kerry said, following Carol out the door.  
  
"Hello, Ellen," Mark said as he came in with Luka.  
"Doctor... The lights are out. What happened?" Ellen asked, innocently.  
"It's nothing, Ellen, just a power outage. It's a big storm out there now. You should sleep." Mark said.  
"I feel fine," it was a lie, but she knew she could walk. And she had things to do.  
"Listen to the doctor. Rest. It's the best thing for a quick recovery," Luka said. Ellen smiled then finally agreed. When Mark and Luka thought she was asleep, they left.  
  
She watched their moves, she knew what they were thinking, and she plotted her next kill...  
  
"So, where do you think they are?" Dave broke the tense silence. Abby, Dave and Carter were sitting in the lounge, not saying a word.  
"Who?" Carter asked. Any excuse for a conversation, any excuse at all to get his mind off of what had happened that night...  
"Peter and Lizzy. They should have been back by now," Dave said.  
"I'm sure they're doing their best," Abby tried to keep the fear from her voice. She felt so much like she was being watched, "This is so eerie... It's... Not right..."  
"Duh!" Dave said.  
"I think it's a girl," Abby said after another long period of silence.  
"Who?"  
"The person who... well, the girl who... stabbed Romano..." she flinched as if those words were a dagger to her own heart.  
"It's OK, Abby," Carter comforted, putting his arm around her, seeing her shrink back, "Why?"  
"Well, remember when I was picking up my papers? And you shined that flashlight at me? Well, remember that voice? I could have sworn it was female... And so familiar..." she couldn't continue, "But, this must be more disturbing for you..." she said, turning to Carter.  
"Huh?"  
"Yeah, big guy, I mean, this isn't the first time you walked in to find a bleeding body on the floor," Dave said. Carter was not very happy to be reminded of that experience. But he was right, this did bring back some horrible memories. Suddenly, they heard another scream, but this one came from outside.  
  
Carol screamed at the sight before her. There was blood all over the car. She began to shake her head in denial. Kerry came up by her side, her eyes wide, not wanting to believe. Carol burst into tears. Kerry held on to Carol to support herself.  
"Don't cry, Carol... You will soon join them," a soft voice cooed.  
"Kerry?" Carol asked. She felt a cool liquid go through her shirt. She looked at the woman next to her. She was laying limp. Carol looked behind Kerry at the woman behind her, holding a knife. Carol's eyes widened and she ran.  
  
Fearing the worst, the Dave, Carter, and Abby jumped to their feet and sprinted down the stairs. Mark and Luka quickly joined them.  
"What's going on?" Mark asked Carter.  
"I have no idea!" he replied, skipping every other step. As they reached the landing, the had a head on collision with Carol.  
"Oh my God! Kerry... Peter... Lizzy!" Carol gasped.  
"What's wrong?" Mark asked. But Carol couldn't say a word.  
"She's coming!" she choked, "We have to run!"  
"This is like a badly written horror movie!" Dave said, but his voice was nearly squeaking. Carol's eyes widened and she fell to the floor. A knife had been thrown at her and had stabbed her straight through the heart.  
"Holy Shit!" Dave swore, as a woman, dressed completely in black stood twelve feet away from them. Her long hair hid her face and it was already dark. She shined a flashlight at them.  
"As I said... Deer in the headlights,"  
"I know that voice!" said Mark.  
"Yes..." Luka said.  
"It sounded familiar when we heard it, too," Abby said.  
"No, I KNOW that VOICE!" The girl stepped into the light.  
"Oh my God..." Carter was breathless.  
"The fire still burns. And it will burn for all eternity..." the girl whispered in her ghostly familiar voice.  



	4. She Lives Inside of Me

A/N: OK, I know you will all hate me unless you read the whole thing because of the last people that died (I'm sorry, I had to do it though it broke my heart too) but just read it to the end and you will not be yelling at me!  
  
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Chapter 4: She Lives Inside of Me  
  
Fire and Ice  
She will rise again  
Time to pay the price  
Those who once were her friends  
  
You think the good in her will conquer the evil in me  
How wrong you can be  
Your fire has been put out  
The hope in you is gone  
But you still think good will conquer  
And right the wrong that I have done  
She will rise again but that will never be  
I know this because she lives inside of me.  
  
"You died your hair! I should have looked at your face more closely!" Mark cried. The girl smiled and laughed.  
"It's Ellen!" Luka said, "Ellen is... Is..."  
"Lucy," Carter said simply. His voice was calm though he still found it hard to believe.  
"Why are you doing this? We're your friends!" Abby asked.  
"I have no friends. She did. But she died. At least you think she died."  
"She's out of her mind!" Dave declared.  
"I am not your friend Lucy. My name is Ellen Faris! Think. Ellen, from the name Eleanor meaning light. Faris means horseman or a Knight. Lucy, from the name Lucille, also meaning light. Does it make sense to you yet?"  
"Who are you?" Carter asked.  
"I am her sister. Not a blood relative. I was born on the day she died. I was born from your guilt. And I am here to put you out of your missery. Even if you weren't involved in her death you get in my way! You tried to save her, but you didn't! I am here to extract her revenge! She lives inside of me!"  
"It wasn't their fault!" Carter stepped out, "They did all they could. They saved me, didn't they?"  
"They did. They could save you but they couldn't save her," Ellen smiled. She began to come closer.  
"But you were stabbed! It's a surprise you can even walk!" Luka reminded her.  
"I stabbed myself! I had to get here without any suspicions! Nothing can hurt me. I am invincible..."  
"Run," whispered Carter and they all ran. But Kovac slipped.  
"Luka!" Abby screamed, turning around. Too late. Ellen picked up Luka Kovac. He tried to fight back, but she stuck her knife in his throat. Abby froze in fear, tears rolled down her cheeks.  
"Luka..." she whispered.  
"Come on!" Carter screamed grabbing Abby's arm and pulling her forward. They ran.  
"Don't worry, after I kill you all, I won't be back and I won't ever bother you again!" They ran into a closet and Carter made sure it was shut tight.  
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?" Dave screamed.  
"I don't know... This is like nothing I've ever even imagined!" Carter said. Abby was sitting on the floor crying. Mark was leaning against the door, Dave kept mumbling things, scared out of his mind, and Carter was just standing there.  
"They're all gone! I can't believe it!" Dave said. This was followed by constant swearing.  
"We need a God damned plan!" but Mark and Abby started screaming. Carter and Dave looked up to see a knife stuck straight through the wood and into Mark's back, coming out of his chest. Carter pulled Mark off of the knife and opened the door with Mark still in his arms. As he expected, there she was.  
"Abby get a gurney."  
"But-"  
"NOW! He can still be saved!" but Ellen took the knife out of the door and stabbed him again.  
"F*** you!" Carter screamed and dropped Mark. There was an uncanny smile of satisfaction on Ellen's face that Carter didn't like. He pushed her out of the way.  
"RUN!" he screamed at Abby and Dave. They obeyed without question. They ran out on the street. They turned down a street and find a brick wall. Carter tried to hoist Abby over, but Ellen came.  
"I'm getting tired of hunting deer. Stop running, you're boring me," she yawned. Carter stared at her. Except for the fact that she had black hair, she looked exactly like Lucy Knight. Maybe she was who she said she was. She came closer. Carter didn't feel he, himself was in any real danger. He looked at his companions and couldn't believe it. They did look like deer in the headlights, staring, horrified and almost hypnotized with eyes wide. He had no idea what to do. This woman seemed to have a knife as her only weapon. No guns. She wouldn't be able to shoot them down. But he knew she'd throw the knife if she had to. He'd seen her do it before. With Carol. He wished this was all just a dream that he would wake up from any minute. She came closer. They were still frozen with fear. Finally, she grabbed Abby.  
"LET HER GO!" Dave and Carter screamed. Abby struggled hard against Ellen's strong grip. That's when Dave decided to play the stupid heroic type. He lunged at Ellen and grabbed her wrist which was poised in the air in another position of attack.  
"I've seen you kill too many people," he screamed. To everyone's surprise, Ellen smiled.  
"Then do you want to see me kill you?" she asked right before she stabbed him, over and over again in his chest. Abby would not stop screaming now.  
"Please, I love hearing the screams of my victims but you're just too much!" she picked up Abby again and put an end to her screams. There was a cold silence that Carter didn't like. It was just him left, now, the last one.  
"You. You didn't do anything about Paul Sobriki. You should have known he was a schizophrenic. And yet you left Lucy all alone in there. You deserve to die. But not by me. You've had your torture. Your punishment. And you will live your life with the lives of these people on your mind. You will be forever damned!" Carter just shook his head.  
"No... I'll report you! I'll report you to the police!"  
"That will do you no good, John Carter. I will leave this place when my job is done. And so will she. She has had her revenge."  
"You said that... She was inside of you. Lucy would never do this to us."  
"She wouldn't. But Ellen Faris would. I am pure evil, Dr. Carter, pure evil. And no good will conquer me!"  
"You're wrong! If Lucy does live inside of you, then she will find someway to end your cruelty!"  
"No!" Ellen screamed but she began to glow a white light, "You cannot defeat me! I am invincible! I am immortal!" but the light around her intensified. Her long black hair turned a golden blond and her dark black tight clothing turned into a beautiful white gown. Then, Ellen Faris disappeared. Standing before him, Carter saw Lucy Knight.  
"Hello, John. She was a stupid thing, born from guilt and sorrow. She was right. She was pure evil, but you have defeated her. We have defeated her."  
"Lucy?" Carter asked. He couldn't believe his eyes. Now this must be a dream. But it was too real to be a dream. Lucy bent down to the two lifeless bodies on the floor. She brushed her hand against Abby's cheek and held Dave's hand.  
"These poor souls, killed by guilt," she sighed, "If only it had never happened."  
"Can you do that? Make it so it never happened?" Carter asked. Lucy looked up at him. Her eyes weren't the cold, ice blue Ellen had, but the warm, caring blue.  
"I can. She won't come back. And remember the flame will always burn, she was right about that. I live inside of you, too, and every one else who knew me, including them," she gestured to Abby and Dave who were still bleeding.  
"Remember me, Carter, I live inside all of you," she whispered. And then, Carter fell unconscious.  
  
"Carter... Carter wake up!" Carter could here Dave's voice. His eyes were still closed.  
"Wake up, Carter, or you're dead meat!" Carter opened his eyes. He was sitting down with Dave in the place he had been before Ellen came in.  
"It looks like you're stuck with me for the next few hours," Dave said.  
"Yeah..." he had the strangest sense of Deja Vue.  
"And me!" Abby came and sat down with them.  
"Hey Abby. Well, it looks like another slow night at the ER," Dave said. Carter waited for Mark to some in, rolling a black haired female in on a gurney. But he didn't come.   
"Yeah," he said, "Pretty slow indeed!"  
  
The End  



End file.
